1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to landing unmanned aerial vehicles. More specifically, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods that utilize acceleration information to land unmanned aerial vehicles.
2. Background and Relevant Art
In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”) have become increasingly popular among businesses, individuals, and governments. UAVs provide a relatively inexpensive means to perform many tasks that require aerial navigation—tasks that may otherwise require chartering an airplane, helicopter, or other, more expensive, aeronautical vehicle. For example, businesses now commonly utilize UAVs for capturing digital aerial images, for surveillance, for transportation, for parcel and/or message delivery, and for a variety of other applications.
However, most UAV operators face a common problem: landing UAVs in a safe, efficient, and precise manner. Indeed, regardless of the particular application or objective of a UAV during flight, UAVs that take off generally must land. Accordingly, a number of UAV landing systems have been developed that either assist in manually landing a UAV (i.e., assist a remote pilot in landing a UAV) or autonomously land a UAV. Although these common systems generally assist in landing UAVs, a number of problems exist with regard to their operation.
For example, in many common landing systems, a UAV will “bounce” (e.g., gyrate up and down) as it nears a landing site. This can occur for a variety of reasons—for example, because systems encounter ground interference or become less reliable as they approach the landing site. Such “bouncing” creates a variety of problems and concerns. As an initial matter, UAV users want a UAV that will land smoothly; bouncing frequently disappoints users as a matter of aesthetic operation. Moreover, “bouncing” can lead to wasted time, damaged property, and/or failed landing attempts. Thus, for example, in circumstances where a UAV utilizes a landing station, the UAV may bounce out of the landing station. Similarly, where a UAV lands directly on the ground, the UAV may repeatedly bounce on the ground. Moreover, in some circumstances, a landing UAV may come into contact with an individual, causing damage to both person and property.
These and other problems exist with regard to landing UAVs.